## Chapter 149 – 149. Dungeon Survival
A fist flies towards my face.
I immediately used Flash.
Eun Sangmin became a C-rank hunter not too long ago. Even if he didn’t infuse mana into his punch, it’s undeniable that his physical abilities are higher than mine.
Moreover, I never expected Eun Sangmin to throw a punch right here. I wouldn’t have been able to dodge that punch without Flash.
‘…Should I just take one hit?’
Thinking about the aftermath, it would be easier. I could use the excuse that he hit me first.
‘But do I have to get hit by a punk like him? Fuck that.’
No matter how convenient it would be for later, my pride wouldn’t allow it.
I clenched my fist and dodged Eun Sangmin’s attack. Then, I summoned lightning and mana, and swung my fist towards Eun Sangmin’s face.
*Wham!*
Eun Sangmin goes flying. The glass wall of the cafe shatters as his body is thrown outside, rolling several times on the ground.
“This, this crazy bastard… are you really trying to start something?!”
Eun Sangmin trembles as he gets up. One side of his face is red and swollen, and blood is dripping from his mouth.
‘He can still get up after taking that? C-rank isn’t just for show.’
Maybe it’s because he can also manipulate mana, but I couldn’t even electrocute him with lightning. If my physical abilities were similar to his, I would have knocked him out already.
“You were the one who threw the first punch. I was just defending myself, you scrub.”
I walked out through the broken glass wall. I didn’t care about my surroundings. This cafe was in a quiet area anyway. There weren’t many customers.
“Alright, you bastard. Let’s have a funeral today.”
Eun Sangmin clenched both fists. Sharp thorns began to sprout from his fists.
That’s Eun Sangmin’s ability. He can make thorns grow on his body or objects. He can also create thorns in the air and throw them.
He’s such a braggart that everyone in the department knows about his ability. And I’ve seen it myself before.
“Wipe the blood off your mouth. You already look like shit, and now you look like a zombie.”
*Crackling.*
Lightning crackled on my right fist.
His physical abilities are higher, but I don’t think I’ll lose.
Eun Sangmin, still on the ground, swung his fist at me. Stone thorns created in the air flew towards me. I used footwork to dodge the thorns and approached Eun Sangmin.
‘Even without a sword, I can still use the Yeongcheon style footwork.’
Eun Sangmin and I engaged in close combat. He showed some signs of having learned martial arts, befitting a C-rank hunter. But to me, it looked very clumsy. It was obvious he didn’t use his fists much.
I dodged his punches and kicks using the Yeongcheon style footwork and began to attack him unilaterally.
“Aaaaargh!”
Eun Sangmin let out an angry roar. I noticed the ground near him trembling.
I immediately used Flash.
I could see the ground slowly turning into thorns and rising towards me. I jumped up to avoid the thorns and kicked Eun Sangmin.
“Cough!”
Eun Sangmin fell to the ground. It was the perfect time to mount him, but I couldn’t rush in because he could turn his whole body into thorns like a hedgehog.
“You’re supposed to be a C-rank hunter. Why are you so bad at fighting? Are you really a C-rank? Did you bribe someone to become a hunter?”
“You little shit!”
That was the moment Eun Sangmin tried to get up again.
“Stop!!”
Han Harin activated her ability to stop us.
Gravity Field.
A higher gravity is applied to both me and Eun Sangmin. But it wasn’t enough to stop us.
Just as mana provides resistance to my lightning to prevent electrocution, it also gives resistance to Han Harin’s gravity. Han Harin’s gravity can’t subdue me or Eun Sangmin. At best, it only slows down our movements.
A long thorn extended from Eun Sangmin’s hand. Eun Sangmin swung the thorn like a sword. It was a level of skill far beyond his awkward punches.
‘This bastard… he crossed the line.’
Bare hands and a weapon. The weight of the words alone is different.
I used Flash to create some distance.
[Using Flash. Remaining stacks: 2]
I didn’t take out a weapon. I wanted to hide the existence of my inventory, and I thought I could manage with my bare hands since I had Flash.
‘I’ve already beaten him enough. Let’s knock him out and end this.’
He can’t react to my Flash. If he were a proper C-rank, he would have reacted, but he was just a mediocre newbie who just became a C-rank.
I used footwork again to approach Eun Sangmin. I saw an opening in his slowed movements.
I saw Eun Sangmin’s eyes.
The moment I saw his eyes filled with hostility, old memories came flooding back.
It was the voice of a college classmate I had overheard while walking down the hallway.
‘Ugh, seriously, what’s with the ability to stretch your body? I can only stretch it by 30cm. What am I supposed to do with an ability like this? My life sucks. Should I just quit being a hunter?’
‘Hey, hey. It’s better than having no ability at all. You can still be a hunter. Look at Seong Yujin. He hasn’t even awakened, but he still drags himself to the department. Honestly, isn’t it a lie to say he has potential?’
‘Heh heh. Yeah, it’s better to have an ability like this than to have no ability at all like him.’
I knew that even though they pretended to be considerate of me on the surface, they treated me like a moron behind my back.
The subtle contempt in their eyes and the ridicule that took place where I couldn’t see.
I knew it, but I couldn’t do anything. I had no power. I had wondered many times if I should quit being a hunter and live as a normal person.
‘Hey, are you the hunter hopeful in our department? It’s been a year, and you still haven’t awakened? Why is a normal person in the hunter department?’
‘Sangmin, you’ve had too much to drink. Calm down.’
‘Ah, come on. Let go. Did I say something wrong? Huh? If you’re incompetent, you should just say, “Ah, I’m not cut out to be a hunter,” and just get lost. It’s so embarrassing to have someone like you as my junior in the hunter department. Seriously.’
‘Yujin, don’t mind him. He’s just drunk.’
‘Hey. This is what ability is. Are you scared? Why are you trembling? I just brushed past you. A guy who wants to be a hunter shouldn’t be scared of something like this… Man, a hunter should always be prepared to die. You can’t be scared like that.’
‘Eun Sangmin! What are you doing?! He’s just a normal person who hasn’t awakened yet! Are you crazy?!’
‘Ugh… I was just kidding. Kidding. Why are you making such a fuss over something like this….’
*Snap.*
Eun Sangmin’s arm twisted in an impossible direction and broke.
“Kaaaaaaah!”
As I heard his scream, I released the power from my left hand and raised my right hand. A dark demonic energy was rising from my right hand.
I smirked at him. His eyes, trembling and looking up at me from the floor, were filled with fear.
“A C-rank hunter trembling over something like this… Shouldn’t a hunter always be prepared to die?”
I used Demonic Asura to kill Eun Sangmin. Demonic Asura is a hand technique from the Demonic Divine Art. He should consider it an honor to die by Demonic Asura.
“Kill… huh?”
Suddenly, my vision widened. I had been so consumed with the thought of killing Eun Sangmin, but those thoughts suddenly disappeared, and I could see the situation clearly.
It was like drinking a very cold glass of water when you were sweating profusely in the summer heat.
I stared wide-eyed at the Demonic Asura forming in my hand.
‘Sh, shit. Demonic energy? Why all of a sudden?’
The black demonic energy in my right hand gradually shrank and disappeared without a trace.
‘No, more than that. I didn’t intend to kill this bastard!’
It’s true that Eun Sangmin is annoying. It’s also true that I have a lot of pent-up anger towards him. But that doesn’t mean I would kill him.
If this were a game world, I would have killed him without a second thought, but this is reality. If I killed Eun Sangmin here, I wouldn’t be able to handle the aftermath.
The reason I picked a fight with Eun Sangmin was because I judged that I could handle the consequences.
‘Why did I try to kill him….’
The question didn’t continue. Suddenly, someone rushed from behind and grabbed both my arms, subduing me in an instant.
“Ugh!?”
“Don’t move! Hunter Association!”
I was about to resist reflexively, but I relaxed my body when I heard those words. I shouldn’t resist unnecessarily. They have the power of the law, and they can even execute hunters on the spot.
“What are you doing in the middle of the street in broad daylight? Are you guys crazy? Huh?”
“…….”
“Get up! If you use your abilities or move your mana, I’ll kill you right away. Just get in the car quietly!”
•••
I was locked up in a detention cell at the Seoul Southern Branch of the Hunter Association. I was inside a steel cage made for hunters. I had already been interrogated by the association staff and was waiting in the detention cell.
I looked at the detention cell across from me. Eun Sangmin, who I had fought with, was also locked up. His body was fine. A hunter with healing abilities among the association staff had treated him.
‘This will probably just end with a fine.’
Although the results are the opposite, Eun Sangmin was a C-rank hunter, and I was an E-rank hunter. Due to the nature of the Hunter Law, it’s much more disadvantageous for Eun Sangmin, who is of a higher rank. Even though I beat him to a pulp.
Han Harin wrote a statement as a witness and left. I guessed from her expression that it wasn’t her who reported it to the association, but the cafe owner.
Eun Sangmin and I will settle this with an agreement. The Hunter Law is messed up, so whether you’re the perpetrator or the victim, you’re punished just for fighting in reality, not in a dungeon. In other words, it’s basically a case of mutual fault.
The best thing to do is to reach an agreement with each other and pay a fine to the Hunter Association to make this incident disappear.
I leaned against the wall of the detention cell and pondered.
‘Putting aside the fact that I tried to kill Eun Sangmin… I used Demonic Asura in reality.’
I unconsciously used the Demonic Divine Art.
No matter how I think about it, it doesn’t make sense. Except for the Demonic Asura just now, I had never succeeded in using the Demonic Divine Art in reality.
But I unconsciously succeeded during a fight? Considering my talent, it’s absolutely impossible.
‘There’s no way this happened without a reason.’
This is serious. There’s no guarantee that this won’t happen again.
‘The only thing I suspect is… the Demonic Divine Art.’
There’s nothing else but the Demonic Divine Art. In the Demonic Divine Art often seen in novels, the essence of the Demonic Divine Art is ultimately demonic power.
I went berserk and tried to kill Eun Sangmin using the Demonic Divine Art. Using the Demonic Divine Art that I had never been able to use in reality before.
‘The Demonic Divine Art is a martial art that the King of the Demonic Heavens gave me. That guy’s identity is probably a demon. Judging by what he does, he’s definitely a demon.’
My conclusion is that the King of the Demonic Heavens tampered with the Demonic Divine Art.
Let’s compare it to a computer.
I’m an awesome computer. And the Demonic Divine Art is an awesome porn video. The problem is that the porn video has a virus that’s infecting the computer.
‘I had to replace my computer because of a virus once. I got scolded by my mom, but I was able to get a new computer.’
That method is impossible. I can’t change myself into another me.
‘Even with Complete Recovery, it’s impossible to get rid of the virus.’
The source of the virus is the Demonic Divine Art. Unless I get rid of the Demonic Divine Art, the virus will keep coming back.
‘…There’s a vaccine for viruses.’
I have one characteristic that can be considered a vaccine.
Mental Resistance.
‘I can’t be sure, but… maybe it’ll have some effect.’
It’s impossible to level up the Mental Resistance trait right now. I didn’t have any points.
‘And I need to go to the world of the God of Atlantis and find out more about the Demonic Divine Art. King of the Demonic Heavens. That bastard is definitely not trustworthy.’
That was when I was internally cursing the King of the Demonic Heavens.
A man approached the detention cell. He looked to be in his mid-30s. He was a handsome man with a sharp jawline. He was wearing round glasses.
He looked at me in the detention cell. He was wearing a neat and luxurious black suit, but he didn’t look like an association staff member. I also didn’t avoid his gaze.
“Brother-in-law! Over here!”
Eun Sangmin said. I realized the man’s identity. If he’s Eun Sangmin’s brother-in-law, there’s only one person.
Han Suri.
The master of the Han Suri Guild, an A-rank hunter, and a mage.
He didn’t even respond to his brother-in-law, Eun Sangmin, and opened his mouth towards me.
“I’m sorry. My brother-in-law has caused trouble.”
